The Correct Ruling

Published: Saturday, April 01, 2000

U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE Sam Cummings appropriately dismissed the lawsuit that was filed by the mother of 15-year-old Joseph De La Rosa against the Lubbock Police Department in connection with the March 11, 1999, fatal shooting of the boy.

Judge Cummings noted that the plaintiffs, in order for the police to be found liable for using excessive force or violating the boy's constitutional rights, had the burden of proving that the police acted irrationally.

It is obvious that such a burden was impossible, given the facts of the case. Officer Tracy Taylor shot the teen when the youngster lunged at him with a knife after the officer unsuccessfully tried to kick the weapon out of his hand. Such a response could hardly be termed as an irrational one.

The death of a child as young as Mr. De La Rosa is always a tragedy, even if the child in question is a troubled youth, as the boy in this case obviously was.

But it is irrefutable that the overwhelming portion of culpability in the 15-year-old's death rested with the boy himself. The police were summoned to the house in the first place by a 911 caller who said a teen-ager was armed with a knife and would not let his family leave.

During an 11-minute standoff with police before the shooting, the boy threatened to kill both the police officers and himself. He was facing police officers with drawn guns and knew he could not win the conflict. But he chose not to end it.

We respect the plight of police officers in dangerous situations but hope that the police study of the De La Rosa standoff and its result leads to the formulation of alternative approaches in such standoffs in the future.

Nonetheless, given the circumstances of this case, Judge Cummings' ruling was entirely correct.